Observation with Sextant and Artificial Horizon, July 1895.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
1896
Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen shakes hands before he sets off on his attempt to reach the North Pole.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
1920
Portrait of Norwegian arctic explorer and statesman Fridtjof Nansen 1861 - 1930, pictured in his study in 1920.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen with Miss Margot Durton.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
North Pole
Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his colleague Johansen prepare to set out on foot across the Polar ice during their attempt to reach the North Pole.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Portrait of Norwegian scientist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen photographed as a young man.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen in his cabin on the Fram. The Arctic. Around 1895.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
North Pole
Members of the Fridtjof Nansen North Pole Expedition with growlers. Hand-colored lantern slide. Around 1894.
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Members of the Fridtjof Nansen North Pole expedition in the camp. Hand-colored lantern slide. Around 1895
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Gallery of Fridtjof Nansen
The Members of the Expedition, after their Return to Christiania. Nansen's crew after they return from their three years North Pole exploration (1893-1896) aboard the 'Fram.'
Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his colleague Johansen prepare to set out on foot across the Polar ice during their attempt to reach the North Pole.
The Members of the Expedition, after their Return to Christiania. Nansen's crew after they return from their three years North Pole exploration (1893-1896) aboard the 'Fram.'
Northern Waters: Captain Roald Amundsen's Oceanographic Observations in the Arctic Seas in 1901, With a Discussion of the Origin of the Bottom-Waters of the Northern Seas
Brenda, My Darling: The Love Letters of Fridtjof Nansen to Brenda Ueland
(Brenda Ueland was the recipient of more than 30 love lett...)
Brenda Ueland was the recipient of more than 30 love letters from the Norwegian explorer, humanitarian, and winner of the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize Fridtjof Nansen. The two met in New York City in 1929. They had a brief love affair and a year-long correspondence until his death. Brenda, My Darling presents Nansen’s letters to Ueland, (hers to him are lost) and a sampling of Ueland’s published work and unpublished diaries. Nansen’s love letters are some of the most passionate, candid, and eloquent in the English language.
Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, statesman, and humanitarian who led a number of expeditions to the Arctic and oceanographic expeditions in the North Atlantic. He achieved world stature as a vital force in the League of Nations.
Background
Nansen was the son of Baldur Fridtjof Nansen, a lawyer, and Adelaide Johanne Thekla Isidore Wedel-Jarlsberg, a niece of Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg. Both his parents had been married before and each had children from their previous marriages. These half brothers and sisters, who were many years older, looked after Fridtjof and his younger brother, Alexander, during their childhood. The older half brothers especially played a major part in laying the foundation for the love of and affinity to nature which Fridtjof developed, and which followed him throughout his life.
The Nansen family was well-disciplined, they admired sports, especially skiing - it was cultivated by Adelaide Nansen. Fridtjof was taught to ski from the age of two. The children did not have purchased toys; Fridtjof made himself a bow and arrow, fishing rods, and windmills on the stream. As a teenager, he and his brother Alexander were allowed to spend a lot of time in the forest, Nansen even compared himself to Robinson.
Education
As a young man, Nansen was a great outdoor athlete, an accomplished skater and skier, and a keen hunter and fisherman. Nansen went to school in Kristiania (Oslo). The Nansen family had restricted economic resources which gave cause for continuous anxiety in relation to financing the children's education. When Fridtjof had completed his schooling at the gymnasium, his father, therefore, advised him to apply to the Officers' Academy, where education was free and where his son, as an officer, would be afforded ample opportunity to roam in nature just as he wished.
However, Fridtjof began to study zoology at the University in 1881. He chose to study zoology in the expectation that fieldwork would give him the chance of an outdoor life and enable him to make use of his artistic talents. Although scientific work was always closest to his heart, he first attained fame as an explorer.
In 1882, on the advice of Robert Collett, professor of zoology at the university, Nansen joined the four-and-a-half-month expedition of the sealer viking. The trip was of seminal influence. He was introduced to the harsh condition of the Arctic as the ship sailed north almost to Svalbard and then west, where it froze fast in the ice and drifted south for several weeks along the eastern shore of Greenland. Nansen’s diary of the voyage eloquently describes the regions, and many of his drawings and sketches were later used to illustrate his works.
In 1882 Collect obtained for Nansen the post of curator at the Bergen Museum. He first took up the study of myzostomes, a small group of parasitic worms of unusual appearance. His results, published in 1885, are still a basic reference and in 1886 earned Nansen the Joachim Friele Gold Medal of the Bergen Museum. The following year he traveled to Germany and Italy, visiting the newly established marine biological station at Naples and Golgi’s laboratory in Pavia, where he observed the technique of silver impregnation of nerve cells.
In 1888 Nansen received the Ph.D. at Oslo for a thesis on the central nervous system in which he demonstrated how the nerve fibers, after entering the lower root of the spinal column, divide into T formations. Although this finding was of great importance for the study of nerve fibers, some of his other observations proved to have been based on artificial products that arose from the coloring and fixing processes that he had used.
Nansen’s fascination with the unknown interior behind the ice-covered coast of Greenland was sparked by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld’s return in 1883 from an expedition to its west coast. Two Lapps who had accompanied him ascended to the high interior plateau, describing it as an endless snowfield. Many others, however, believed that the interior was ice-free and that temperatures were relatively high; there was even talk of oases. Nordenskiöld himself believed that the Lapps had seen only a snow belt and that the interior was mainly ice, free of snow. Nansen, who had shortly before established himself as a pioneer of high-mountain skiing on a three-day trip from Bergen to Oslo, conceived the idea that it should be possible to ski across Greenland.
On 17 July 1888, a Norwegian sealer carried Nansen and his five-man party as near the east coast of Greenland as the ice permitted, and the group set off in their boats. Driven by adverse currents, they were unable to land until 16 August. After an extremely difficult ascent to the plateau, which reaches a height of almost 9,000 feet, they journeyed across the ice through arduous snow conditions, night temperatures as low as -50°C., snowstorms, and fog, until they reached the village of Godthaab, on the west coast, on 3 October. Having missed the last ship home, the group spent the winter there, making friends with the Eskimos and learning their way of life. The expedition confirmed that Greenland is completely covered with ice, and its meticulous meteorological observations have remained basic to an understanding of the influence of weather conditions in northern Europe and the United States. On his return to Norway in 1889, Nansen was appointed a curator at the University of Christiania.
In 1890 Nansen presented before the Norwegian Geographical Society a plan for an even more hazardous expedition. Having collected evidence showing that the ice of the polar sea drifted from Siberia toward Spitsbergen, he proposed to build a ship of such a shape that it would be lifted but not crushed when caught by the ice. He proposed to let this ship freeze in off eastern Siberia in order to be carried from there across the Arctic Ocean to Spitsbergen by the currents. Though his plan was severely criticized by contemporary Arctic explorers, the Norwegian Parliament granted two-thirds of the estimated expenses, and the rest was raised by subscriptions from King Oscar II and private individuals. His ship, Fram (i.e., "Forward"; now preserved outside Oslo), was built according to his ideas.
With a complement of 13 men, the Fram sailed from Kristiania on June 24, 1893. On September 22 it was enclosed by the ice at 78°50′ N, 133°37′ E; it froze in, and the long drift began. It bore the pressure of the ice perfectly. On March 14, 1895, Nansen, being satisfied that the Fram would continue to drift safely, left it in 84°4′ N, 102°27′ E, and started northward with dogsleds and kayaks, accompanied by F.H. Johansen. On April 8 they turned back from 86°14′ N, the highest latitude then yet reached by man, and headed toward Franz Josef Land. As they approached the northern islands, progress was hampered by open water and, because of the advanced season, they wintered on Frederick Jackson Island (named by Nansen after the British Arctic explorer), where they stayed from August 26, 1895, to May 19, 1896. They built a hut of stone and covered it with a roof of walrus hides and lived during the winter mainly on polar bear and walrus meat, using the blubber as fuel. On their way to Spitsbergen, they encountered Frederick Jackson and his party of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition, on June 17, and returned to Norway in his ship Windward, reaching Vardø on August 13. The Fram also reached Norway safely, having drifted north to 85°57′. Nansen and his companions on board the Fram were given a rousing welcome, which reached its climax on their arrival in Kristiania on September 9. His two-volume account of the expedition, Fram over Polhavet (Farthest North), appeared in 1897.
Nansen also wrote papers on zoological and histological subjects, illustrated by excellent drawings. For one of his papers, "The Structure and Combination of Histological Elements of the Central Nervous System" (1887), the University of Kristiania conferred upon him the degree of doctor of philosophy. Though the paper contained so many novel interpretations that the committee that had to examine it accepted it with doubt, it is now considered a classic.
On his return from the Fram expedition in 1896, a professorship in zoology was established for Nansen at the University of Kristiania, but his interests shifted from zoology to physical oceanography, and in 1908 his status was changed to professor of oceanography. During 1896–1917 he devoted most of his time and energy to scientific work. He edited the report of the scientific results of his expedition and himself wrote some of the most important parts. He participated in the establishment of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and for some time directed the council’s central laboratory in Kristiania. In 1900 he joined the Michael Sars on a cruise in the Norwegian Sea. In 1910 he made a cruise in the Fridtjof through the northeastern North Atlantic; in 1912 he visited the Spitsbergen waters on board his own yacht Veslemoy; and in 1914 he joined B. Helland-Hansen on an oceanographic cruise to the Azores in the Armauer Hansen. In 1913 Nansen traveled through the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea to the mouth of the Yenisey River and back through Siberia. He published the results of his cruises in numerous papers, partly in cooperation with Helland-Hansen. His lasting contributions to oceanography comprise improvement and design of instruments, explanation of the wind-driven currents of the seas, discussions of the waters of the Arctic, and explanation of the manner in which deep- and bottom-water is formed.
Nansen also dealt with other subjects: for instance, his Nord i tåkeheimen, 2 vol. (1911; In Northern Mists) gave a critical review of the exploration of the northern regions from early times up to the beginning of the 16th century.
As Nansen grew older, he became more interested in the relations between individuals and nations. In 1905 he took a lively part in the discussion about the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. His attitude may be summarized by his words: "Any union in which the one people is restrained in exercising its freedom is and will remain a danger." On the establishment of the Norwegian monarchy, Nansen was appointed its first minister in London (1906–08).
With the outbreak of World War I, Nansen turned to humanitarian work, and in 1920 he became the first Norwegian delegate to the League of Nations, a post he held until his death. At the first assembly of the League of Nations in 1920, the Norwegian delegation was headed by Nansen, who was to remain one of the outstanding members of the assembly until his death. In 1921 the council of the League of Nations gave Nansen his first great task, appointing him high commissioner responsible for the repatriation from Russia of about 500,000 prisoners of war from the former German and Austro-Hungarian armies. The Soviet government would not recognize the League of Nations but negotiated with Nansen personally, and in September 1922 he reported to the third assembly of the League that his task was completed and that 427,886 prisoners of war had been repatriated.
In August 1921 Nansen was asked by the International Committee of the Red Cross to direct an effort to bring relief to famine-stricken Russia. He accepted, and on August 15 a conference in Geneva, at which 13 governments and 48 Red Cross organizations were represented, appointed him high commissioner of this new venture. On August 27 he concluded an agreement with the Soviet government authorizing him to open in Moscow an office of the "International Russian Relief Executive." Nansen’s request to the League for financial assistance was turned down, but by appealing to private organizations and by addressing large public meetings he succeeded in raising the necessary funds.
On July 5, 1922, on Nansen’s initiative, an international agreement was signed in Geneva introducing the identification card for displaced persons known as the "Nansen passport." In 1931 the Nansen International Office for Refugees was created in Geneva (after Nansen’s death); it cared mainly for anti-communist ("White") Russians, for Armenians from Turkey, and, later, for Jews from Nazi Germany.
Nansen was interested in politics from an early age. The Swedish-Norwegian contradictions intensified at the very beginning of the 1890s, the formal reason for it was the question of Norway's own consular service. Nansen closely followed the course of the political struggle and, becoming a symbol of the national revival of Norway, joined the struggle to expand the rights of his country.
When the conflict concerning the question of the Union between Norway and Sweden began to unfold at the beginning of 1905, Fridtjof Nansen found his place at the forefront of public opinion. Through writing and speeches, he agitated for the dissolution of the Union; the ultimate aim was an independent Norwegian foreign service lead by a Norwegian Foreign Minister. The crisis reached a peak in May-June 1905 when the Norwegian National Assembly formally ceased to recognize the King of the Union and began to explore the possibilities for obtaining a new monarch for Norway alone.
Fridtjof Nansen was appointed by the government to undertake a secret mission to Copenhagen to enquire whether the Danish Prince Carl would consider coming to Norway as King. After several meetings and conversations with the Prince, Nansen succeeded in persuading him to agree, on the condition that the proposal was unopposed by the Swedish royal household. In the late autumn of 1905 and at the request of Prince Carl, a referendum was held in Norway on the question of the monarchy. A decisive majority of the people were in favor of a monarchy in preference to a republic, and the most popular candidate was, without doubt, the Danish Prince, with his English born wife Princess Maud, daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Prince Carl subsequently became King Haakon VII of Norway.
Views
Nansen developed a theory that there exists a current from Siberia, across the Arctic Sea, to Greenland. This conjecture was based on his observation that much of the driftwood found in Greenland came from Siberian trees and from the discovery in Greenland of the wreckage of the Jeanette expedition (1879-1880), which had been trapped north of the Chukchi Sea. In his proposal to the Norwegian Geographic Society and the Royal Geographic Society of London, Nansen planned to drift with the ice current in a specially constructed ship-rather than fighting it, as all polar explorers had previously done. Although his theory was criticized by many, financing was obtained for the Fram ("Forwar"), the first vessel expressly constructed to withstand the pressure of ice.
Nansen is widely known for his humanitarian activity. For Fridtjof Nansen, the international humanitarian effort had been a test of human compassion and solidarity. «It was love of one's fellow man which would one day come to be the decisive factor for the future of mankind», he said. He was, naturally, disappointed that the governments of many countries first and foremost expressed formal reservations and presented counter-arguments to the plans. At the same time, it was a great inspiration that the people enthusiastically supported his work. They believed in what he was doing and they listened to his deeply felt plea to exercise tolerance and to be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of one's fellow human beings.
Fridtjof Nansen could never understand or accept that tragedies such as hunger and need, the existence and plight of refugees, prisoners of war and persecution, could be considered anything less than human problems. This belief presented him constantly with new disappointments and defeats. At the same time, it was a part of his strength, as it was an expression for something about which no one could fail to be concerned and more than anything else his belief in goodness was a force which no one or nothing could shake.
In his travels undertaken in connection with the aid to the prisoners of war, Fridtjof Nansen had been deeply affected by the vast need startlingly evident in many parts of Europe, as a result of the aftermath of war. Especially serious were the conditions in the Soviet Union where, as he heard from several sources, there was nothing less than famine gripping large areas. It was, however, difficult to obtain confirmation of this as the communist rulers would not admit that conditions were bad. and they withheld the information concerning the magnitude of this critical situation for as long as possible. The Western powers had introduced a blockade of the Soviet Union, in order to induce a counter revolution. It was a severe strategy with which Nansen was fundamentally in disagreement, in spite of this strong pro-western attitude.
On the 11th of July 1921 the writer Maxim Gorky broke his silence and directed an earnest appeal to friends in the West to help the many who were starving. A short time later the Soviet authorities themselves declared large parts of the Volga region an area of famine. The truth could no longer be suppressed and two extensive relief operations came underway immediately. One was led by Herbert Hoover in the USA. This was a totally American relief operation under their complete supervision from the outset, and they took control of the distribution of all supplies which were sent. Large resources were mobilized and gradually over 200 Americans were involved in this operation in the Soviet Union. The other relief operation was based on a concerted effort by a number of voluntary aid organizations, first and foremost the Red Cross and the Quakers. The operation, however, lacked a central administrative and coordinating body, and the pressure was brought to bear on Nansen to undertake the leadership of these voluntary aid operations. It was also hoped that with Nansen's important influence, it would be possible to persuade the League of Nations to grant funds towards the campaign against hunger. Once again Nansen hesitated for a few days. He had become absorbed in his scientific research work as soon as the work with the prisoners of war was concluded, and had three large projects in hand which he hoped to complete. He felt it was impossible for him to divide himself in this way, but could not ignore his inner voice of conscience. The leaders of the International Red Cross persistently stated that the Soviet Union would only accept a Norwegian, Swede or Swiss as leader of the relief work, and this made it impossible for him to refuse the request. At a meeting in Geneva on the 15th to the 16th of August 1921, 48 delegates from relief organizations and 12 governments were present. They passed a resolution to request that Nansen and Hoover should lead the relief work for the starving in the Soviet Union. Both were appointed as High Commissioners for the operation. Herbert Hoover, who in March 1921 had been appointed Minister of Commerce in the USA, declined the invitation. Nansen accepted and a few days later began work on the practical preparations. The first meetings with the Russians took place in Riga and Moscow in August 1921, and the outcome was that the Russians entered into an agreement with him. «Doctor Fridtjof Nansen, High Commissioner for Relief to Russia, appointed by the Geneva Conference» was the first to be appointed, the other was Foreign Minister Georgy Chicherin. Several other agreements followed, among them one that the Russians should take up a large loan to finance the operation. This, of course, was tantamount to admitting failure, which the Soviet leaders had not found easy to accept. Through the loan agreement, the Russians were forced to admit that foreign financial donations were «necessary to prevent a catastrophe which would not only lead to dire need for a large number of Russians but also have a lasting effect on the economic situation in Europe». This was the wording used when they delegated the authority to Nansen to obtain credit in the West.
Fridtjof Nansen soon discovered that it was very difficult to obtain financial aid equable to the vast amount of the relief required. The Soviet regime was feared and hated in many parts of the world; the communist government was regarded with the deepest mistrust, and many politicians saw the help to the starving Russians as a form of support for bolshevism. This time Nansen was not successful in convincing the League of Nations when he addressed the General Assembly in September 1921 on the subject "Need in the Soviet Union." He gave a gripping description of the crisis threatening millions of people, a catastrophe which was considerably larger than anything Europe had ever before experienced. Using harsh words he criticized the governments who refrained from giving aid, ostensibly because the Soviet authorities could not be trusted. In his opinion, no one had the right to react in such a way when it was a question of saving hundreds of thousands, even millions, of lives. He tried to convince the delegates that he could organize the aid so that it really did reach those for whom it was intended; he assured them that several voluntary organisations had achieved this on their own. Fridtjof Nansen concluded by appealing to the General Assembly to request the governments of the member nations to obtain the necessary credit - in addition to prospective gifts. The international community dallied and the suggestion was formally sent to the committees for consideration, in spite of Nansen's request that a decision be reached immediately. The committees expressed great sympathy, but no one would support the request to obtain money. The governments replied that they could not accept the agreement which Nansen had entered into with the Russians. Instead, it was suggested that the whole Russian problem should be discussed at a conference in Brussels some weeks later.
In a renewed address to the General Assembly on the 30th of September, Fridtjof Nansen expressed his deep disappointment and criticized the governments' cowardly approach. In his opinion there was not time for new reports and long speeches - even while the delegates were speaking, people were dying of hunger and sickness in the Soviet Union. Was it possible, solely from fear of the Soviet government, to allow perhaps 20 million people to starve to death? «In the name of humanity, in the name of all that is pure and holy, I appeal to you, who yourselves have wives and children at home - think what it means to see women and children die of starvation. From this place, I appeal to the governments, to the people of Europe, to the whole world, for help. Hurry - before it is too late to regret». But the governments in the Western European countries remained unmoved to any significant degree. Many of the delegates declared that they supported him, but it was only moral support - money was not forthcoming.
In addition to directing the large organizational apparatus which such an operation demanded, both within and outside Russia, Nansen was also forced to lead the work of fund raising. It was characteristic of him that he did this by appealing directly to the people, over the heads of their insensitive, political leaders. He wrote and gave speeches, he traveled around on lecture tours, he organized the collection of funds, he begged and persuaded. «I see no other way for the salvation of mankind than the rebirth of the attitude - love thy neighbor», he wrote in an article. The people reacted spontaneously, and the money flowed in. There were some who accused him of supporting the bolshevists, but he dismissed such accusations with contempt and emphasized that politics were immaterial in this case - this was a question of people in dire need, and the responsibility of everyone else was obvious.
Quotations:
"The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer."
"Love of mankind is politics in practice."
"Nothing great and good can be furthered in the world without cooperation."
"The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer."
"It is better to go skiing and think of God, than to go to church and think of sport."
Personality
Nansen’s success as an explorer was due largely to his careful evaluation of the difficulties that might be encountered, his clear reasoning, which was never influenced by the opinions of others, his willingness to accept a calculated risk, his thorough planning, and his meticulous attention to detail. Many of these traits can be recognized in his scientific writings.
There was another side to him too - the artist. His diaries reveal the thoughtful, often meditative philosopher. In his own written accounts of his travels, the often factual, prosaic style occasionally soars to heights of inspired lyricism. Throughout his life, he was fond of poetry and already as a young man had extensive knowledge of both Norwegian and foreign poets. Of the English poets he was perhaps especially fond of Lord Byron and Lord Tennyson and as an older man he referred to "the love of my youth, Lord Byron."
During the time Nansen studied in Bergen, he took lessons in drawing and watercolor painting and for a time his ambition was to become a painter. His teacher, Franz W. Schiertz, greatly encouraged him in this direction; but ultimately Nansen decided painting should remain just a useful hobby. In the 1880s he taught himself lithography which he was to find very useful when preparing the thesis for this doctorate.
Physical Characteristics:
Fridtjof Nansen was of impressive physique; athletic, strong and vigorous. He was a strapping blond man, fair complected, with a frosty stare and a truculent face that seemed slightly at odds with the refinements of his intellect.
Interests
Writers
Lord Byron, Lord Tennyson
Sport & Clubs
skiing
Connections
Women were attracted to Fridtjof Nansen. He made an impression on them by his seriousness and by his helpless, often boyish charm. One of those who were impressed by him was the singer Eva Sars. She was born on the 7th of December 1858 and was the daughter of the pastor Michael Sars who was a pioneer in the field of marine zoology and who had been appointed professor of this subject at the University. Eva's mother, Maren Sars, formerly Welhaven, was the sister of the famous Norwegian poet Johan Sebastian Welhaven. Two of Eva's brothers, the historian Ernst Sars and the zoologist Georg Ossian Sars, were also professors at the University. A sister, Mally, was married to the composer Thorvald Lammers. She was distinctly artistic, and could both draw and paint, but it was music which lay nearest to her heart. In May 1887 she made her debut as a romance singer and received great acclaim from the critics. Eva and Fridtjof Nansen became engaged on 1 August 1889 and were married in September. The couple soon moved into their new home in Lysaker in Bærum. They have five children. Eva Nansen died in 1907.
On 17 January 1919 Nansen married Sigrun Munthe, a long-time friend with whom he had had a love affair in 1905, while Eva was still alive.
Father:
Baldur Fridtjof Nansen
Mother:
Adelaide Johanne Thekla Isidore Wedel-Jarlsberg
late wife:
Eva Sars
Son:
Odd Nansen
Daughter:
Irmelin Nansen
Daughter:
Liv Nansen
Son:
Kåre Nansen
Daughter:
Irmelin Revold
Wife:
Sigrun Munthe
tutor:
Robert Collett
Acquaintance:
Brenda Ueland
colleague:
Axel Krefting
References
Nansen
Behind the great polar explorers of the early twentieth century - Amundsen, Shackleton, Scott in the South, and Peary in the North - looms the spirit of Fridtjof Nansen, the mentor of them all. He was the father of modern polar exploration, the last act of territorial discovery before the leap into space began. A restless, unquiet Faustian spirit, Nansen was a Renaissance Man born out of his time in Norway.
1997
Locked in Ice: Nansen's Daring Quest for the North Pole
A spellbinding biography of Fridtjof Nansen, the pioneer of polar exploration, with a spotlight on his harrowing three-year journey to the top of the world. Richly illustrated with historic photographs, this riveting account of Nansen's Arctic expedition celebrates the legacy of an extraordinary adventurer who pushed the boundaries of human exploration to further science into the twentieth century.
When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic
Co-written by a decision scientist and an Antarctic historian, When Your Life Depends on It is filled with tales of resilience that resonate with people who love travel and adventure as well as those seeking insights into human behavior. It reveals the mind-set of the brave men who risked, and in some cases gave their lives, for science, discovery, and exploration.